Terror group threatens to ‘slaughter’ Fatah top echelon

‘‘We hereby declare that we have begun operating in Palestine,’’ the leaflet distributed in the name of Al-Tawhid and jihad said heaping praises on Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab Zarqawi.

‘‘We have decided to revive the Sunnah (one of the sources of Islamic jurisprudence) of slaughter against these people to avoid dissension,’’ the Jerusalem Post quoted the leaflet circulated in Gaza as saying.

This is the first time the group, believed to be headed by Jordanian terrorist Zarqawi, has issued a leaflet in Gaza.

A Hamas spokesman denied any connection to the threats, saying they did not believe Al-Qaeda had set up cells in Gaza. “Hamas does not have any links with Al-Qaeda,’’ government spokesman Ghazi Hamad was quoted by the daily as saying.

I never understood why people hate Debka so much. They may only be slightly more accurate than CBS news but they still scoop a lot of stories.

Yes, this is a Godfather-type scenario. Al Queda smells weakness in the Hamas/Fatah fracture and will try to stake out a claim on some turf. There have already been a lot of political killings, sometimes against each other, sometimes together to get rid of a potential rival (i.e. Musa Arafat's assassination, which got little play in the media but which seemed to have been approved by the top Fatah men and carried out by the new Hamas security chief's men).

This very much ties into Egypt's campaign to root out Al Queda from the Sinai - which they should have done over a year ago - but only started now that it's clear to the Egyptians that last years' bombing at the Taba Hilton wasn't a one-off. These scum play for keeps and the longer it takes for nations (even partially friendly nations) to realize it the harder it will be.

And I wouldn't count Hamas out of this, either. Hamas may be helping Al Queda because the more it looks like Al Queda is a threat the more Hamas will look 'moderate' or worse... some countries may decide to "help" Hamas to defeat Al Queda.

But this is what happens when you pussyfoot around about terrorists. They have no redeeming qualities and their goals are clear and their aim straight. It is we (the west) who is wobbly and nuanced; we see 'shades of grey' while they see black and white.

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